Knighthood Ceremony
by Evan and Mir
Summary: To become a knight, Mihail has to pass the test of the Guardian Spirit of Light. R&R please.


"Do you wish to be a Chief Knight?"

They were just ordinary words- perhaps meaningless to another. Yet for Mihail, they meant the world. He felt giddy from the excitement; he suddenly wondered how much longer he would be able to stand. He felt like he had been waiting for this moment his entire life.

In front of him lay Empress Cygnus, her arms wrapped around the Divine Bird, Shinsoo. Her blonde hair, so light it matched Shinsoo's feathers, fell down her back in waves. She stared at him through piecing blue eyes; his own matched the sea, while hers matched the sky.

Such mature eyes seemed out of place on her child's face; her cheekbones had yet to become more defined, and her skin was soft and umblemished. No wonder; she was half his age; only eight or nine. She was young and frail; sometimes, he wondered if she was going to fall over when she walked. Her voice was quiet and breathy, as if she whispered everything she said. Yet when blue eyes met blue, he sensed a quiet determination that rivaled his own...

Perhaps, if she had lived in different circumstances, she would have walked the same path as he.

Mihail gazed into the cloudless blue sky, sheltering the beautiful leafy trees. He made his way across to the young Empress and knelt. There was no need to make up his mind; he had decided long ago.

"With all my heart and soul, my lady." Mihail answered truthfully. His heart was so full that he wondered how it didn't burst.

"Then I have a challenge for you," Empress Cygnus held out her small hand; resting in it was a shining gold pendant, hanging from a silver chain. It seemed so... Warm, and inviting. Like a patch of sunshine.

"This is Lux, the guardian spirit of light. The previous Dawn Warrior, and the ones before him, were all tested by Lux; if you have the strength and loyalty needed, Lux will know."

Mihail looked up at Empress Cygnus with a confident grin; he loved challenges. He slipped off his gloves, then touched Lux.

Mihail felt the being search his soul, and his past; all his life's memories came bubbling to mind, as vivid as if he were re-living them.

_The heat of a fire, crackling in the fireplace as Mihail warmed his hands, the warmth flooding the house on a winter night. The window he sat by was covered by a sheet of ice; through it, he could see a lonely star, the only one visible through the dark clouds. As he curled up on the mat in front of the fire and drifted to sleep, he wondered if the star was the light of a similar fireplace, and another lonely soul. _

_His mother tousling his blonde hair as he devoured a hard bread crust. And yet it still wasn't enough to take the edge off his hunger. He could still feel the pain in his stomach; it brought tears to his eyes. She turned, looking at him with such profound sadness. _

_He knew what she saw; he had seen his reflection in the filthy stream they drank from; He was so thin and pale, he seemed like a ghost. He could see his own ribs. His blonde hair was filthy and matted, and his blue eyes had a haunted look no child his age should have._

_She gave him the rest of her bread._

_'I ate earlier today,' She lied._

_The searching gaze of his father, a mercenary._

_'Do you hate me, child?' He asked plainly. Mihail shook his head, hurt and angry that his father could ask such a thing. How could Mihail ever hate him? What he did, he did to keep them alive._

_'I think you hate yourself,' Mihail said scathingly. He had always been able to see right through people, even when he was a child._

_The hurt look his father gave him before walking away made him wish he could take it back._

_Those were the last words between them._

_Sitting high above the ground on a tree branch, feeling close enough the touch the beautiful velvet sky. Standing up, barefoot and on his tip toes on the thickest branch to feel the green leaves tickle his head._

_Every night, he snuck out to gaze at the stars from that tall tree. At first, it was hard to climb up, and he got many a splinter that he guiltily lied about the origins of to his mother; he didn't want her to know that he was out of bed that late at night. She would worry. But eventually, he became skilled at climbing trees, making his way up them as quickly and easily as a cat. The pinpricks of light in the sky fascinated Mihail; to him, they were like reminders that there was still light, even at the darkest times._

_'He's not coming home,' Mother choked out. Mihail felt the slow and steady drip of tears down his face. She was brave; she didn't lie to him to protect her own feelings. She didn't say Father was going to be gone a little longer, just so she didn't have to admit he was dead._

_He ran to her and cried against her shoulder, as he had never let himself before._

_The cold handle of a sword in ten year old Mihail's hand. He looked back at Mother, to see fear in her eyes. He grit his teeth._

_'I'm not going to follow dad's path, and I'm not going to be stupid and let myself get killed, either. Please, just let me do this. Maybe, if I become a skilled swordsman, I can join the Cygnus Knights. I hear they pay their knights, and they're good people.' _

_The fear changed to pride, which warmed his heart. He was doing this for the two of them. Maybe, they would finally be able to eat a full meal, and hunger, a force they both knew well, would disappear._

_Yet she died before the dreams he had of a comfortable life could be fulfilled; the famine had finally gotten to her. She was sickly and weak. Maybe she would've been able to fight off the illness if she was healthy._

_She watched him, smiling peacefully as he held her hand._

_'Keep pursuing your dream, Mihail. You've always wanted to fight for the sake of others. So keep fighting.' She told him. He swallowed against the lump in his throat as her eyes closed_

_He lay there for hours by her side, numb until the painful loneliness settled in his stomach, and prepared for a permanent stay._

_When he finally let go of her hand, he had made a resolution; he would join the Knights of Cygnus, and do his best to keep this pain from happening to anyone else._

Mihail blinked his eyes open dazedly, finally awake from the trance he had been in. The sunlight seemed painfully bright after the memories of the rotting, dimly lit house.

_'You have passed my challenge,' _Lux informed him. He felt understanding and approval emanating from the spirit.

And then another voice echoed in Mihail's mind.

_'Are you willing to protect your Empress and I down to your last drop of blood?'_ Came a warm and protective voice. He looked up to stare at the Divine Bird in awe.

_Yes,_ Mihail thought in a mere whisper, dizzied by the fact that the very deity who held the Maple world together had spoken to him.

"Rise." Empress Cygnus bid him. Mihail rose.

"I give you the title of Chief Knight. You, and four others as well, will protect Ereve," Empress Cygnus smiled to him, and Mihail suddenly wondered how much joy he could feel in one moment. He felt the cold chain of the necklace Lux hung on fall against his neck as the Empress secured it.

From then on, he would forever feel the warm and comforting presence of Lux against his collarbone.

** AN: Click the review button. You know you want to.**


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